Folding Forum

Hey FOH project team,

Really awesome work! I was just browsing through your amazing work and found this beautiful picture of a protein folding example and its pathways. Unfortunately I can not post links but it is the second picture on the FOH wiki page that is found under the topic "Project significane". The Figure title says "Folding@home uses Markov state models, like the one diagrammed here, to model the possible shapes and folding pathways a protein can take as it condenses from its initial randomly coiled state (left) into its native 3-D structure (right)."

Now I would like some more information on that. I guess there is a publication to it (as someone obviously took a lot of time creating that picture). I was checking out most of the publications listed on the Wiki page of FOH but could not find this picture explained in more detail at all. It is a pitty that no publication is cited along with the picture.
I would like to know what protein that is and what it does in the body etc.
Maybe someone can help me out with some Info on that protein?

Thanks,
Punix

Hey punix, it says right in the caption. It is ACBP, a 86-residue helix-bundle protein. A Markov state model illustrating 15 of the highest-flux folding pathways between the unfolded and native states of ACBP, a 86-residue helix-bundle protein. The Markov state model contained 2000 macrostates.

So basically from my understanding of folding at home and what proteins do, the image is of a single protein in its unfolded state on the left, a long worm looking thing. These are simulations in which it says the model contained 2000 macrostates, which is what is shown in the middle of the image. Then on the right you have the almost to completed folded state and finally the folded state. Hope this helps.

Anybody else is free to add to this if I got it wrong.

Just fyi this asked 3 years ago.